Benetti's 40-metre hybrid yacht B.Neos

Two recent projects have caught my eye and it struck me that their balance, proportion and elegance stand out in the market. Both projects have been developed by two highly respected design studios best known for their work in the sailing sector, Malcolm Mckeown and Philippe Briand. 

The first project, which has recently been sold, is from the new range at Benetti, the B.Neos 40-metre from the drawing board of Malcolm Mckeon Yacht Design. It’s a sleek project with “evolved simplicity”, state the shipyard, where the continuity and connection between the main deck spaces and living areas has some similarities to the way sailing yachts flow and connect. When you observe its profile, there is a balance and harmony between the deck levels, nothing too complex or overworked, a yacht that is distractingly beautiful and not what you expect from the typical motoryacht market.

FAST 50 has a super-low 50-metre profile

The second project is the FAST 50 from the Vitruvius Studio, also under the creative vision of Philippe Briand, a slightly more dramatic and radical perspective, with one continuous deck and a super-low profile, with more connection to the sailing sector than the previous project. Being commissioned at the Alia Shipyard in Turkey, this is definitely a project that is likely to turn heads and create conversations across the market. Briand has created a variety of motoryachts in the past few years, all under his Vitruvius marque, but this is perhaps my new favourite. The concept of living so laterally and not trying to impress with multiple decks and excessive volume, but to create a platform that is designed to connect every living space, almost directly to the waterline, is both brave and exciting.

Over the years we have witnessed the desire to create volume and space that adds more and more real estate; however, perhaps in the same way that sailing yacht owners enjoy this connection with the sea and how their designers understand this relationship, we may see the trend evolve where yachts become not only more beautiful to observe, but perhaps more elegant to enjoy, without too many spaces or even too many people on board.

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Benetti

Alia Yachts

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